The Final Destiny
by Mystic Cheese
Summary: A mysterious force. Another realm. Another foe. CHAPTER 2 UP! Review me, I review you, OK?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Spyro or anything in the Dragon Realms! But Afghar's device, Kolder, and Zuclyptos are my own! What the crap are they, you ask? Read on to find out.

Chapter 1: The Festival

Spyro sat gloomily, sprawled out beside the lake in Idol Springs, watching the young dragons running about excitedly. Some had already been given dragonflies, but most of them hadn't, anxiously waiting in a disorganized line, jostling each other for the next dragonfly. Spyro sighed. He could now only barely remember the day when he was presented with his lifelong friend, Sparx. he could barely remember anything anymore. Over the past three years, he had barely been left alone for a moment. Nobody ever got tired of him endlessly repeating his tales, and no one wanted him to stop. Everywhere he went, his privacy was bombarded by nosy people. The dragonfly festival was now one of the only places where he could get some peace and solitude. It was very nice in the serene environment of Idol Springs, where they had decided to hold it every year. Ever since the "Ripto Incident". 

He was just beginning to relax when the sound of trotting approached him. He looked up and saw Kolder, his new best friend, coming towards him. 

Kolder had deep, ruby colored scales, and deep, emerald horns. His claws were a little bigger and sharper than Spyro's, and his tail had small, curved spikes decorating it every few inches. Kolder was very different from most dragons. He was an orphan, like Spyro, and when he hatched, no one claimed him. His flame was very different, also; It wasn't quite a flame. Kolder could breathe out liquid magma in a straight pillar, though since he was young, like Spyro, it was only about an inch in diameter. He was much of an outcast, excluded from everyone else, but Spyro saw good in him. Kolder and him had been great friends for as long as he could remember, but because of his numerous adventures, they hadn't had the chance to hang out with each other very often. 

"What's up?" he asked, sidling over to Spyro and sitting on the turf near the lake. "Where's Sparx?"

Spyro glanced over at a group of young dragons and dragonflies, and saw Sparx playing with them all. Sparx had become incredibly popular over his adventures, and he never had a shortage of company, either. And he didn't seem to mind. "Over there," he pointed.

"Oh."

"Where's Dyllin?"

Dyllin was Kolder's dragonfly, and he never left his side. He was his only friend, apart from Spyro, throughout his life. They were almost inseparable.

Suddenly, a blue spark popped out from behind Kolder's left horn and started jabbering excitedly.

"With me, as always," came Kolder's reply. "What's wrong? You don't...look too well."

"I'm fine," Spyro replied. "I'm just...getting a bad feeling. That something terrible is going to happen."

"How could you get that feeling today?" Kolder asked, gesturing towards the sky. 

Spyro looked up, and saw the brilliant blue, cloudless sky above him, while the sun shone brilliantly. A single, bright red leaf fell from the tallest tree and slowly drifted into the lake, forming tiny ripples on the crystal clear surface. Idol Springs was always beautiful. 

"It's always like this here," Spyro replied flatly.

"Exactly," Kolder replied. "Ripto's not around anymore, remember? Nothing bad is going to happen."

Hunter ran up to him, dodging a group of baby dragons playing and jabbering happily. "Hey Spyro! Great festival, eh?"

"Eh," Spyro replied, standing up and rubbing his eyes. "Is everything going alright?"

"You bet!" Bianca piped up, who had just suddenly appeared beside Hunter. "The dragonfly festival's always gone well since you got back the dragonflies!"

"Are you sure? I mean, that nothing bad's happened?"

"What's up with him?" Hunter asked.

"Seems to think something bad is going to happen," Kolder remarked. 

"Where'd he get that thought?" Bianca asked. "It's a beautiful day."

"Yeah, okay," Spyro consented, getting on his feet. "Just let me know if anything happens, alright?"

"Lighten up, would ya?" said Kolder.

"Yeah, Spyro, enjoy the party!" Hunter exclaimed as he walked away.

"C'mon, let's go for a swim or something," Kolder suggested.

"Yeah, I guess," Spyro replied dejectedly. He walked over to the edge of the tranquil waters and leapt, spinning in a headbash into the water.

"Man, Spyro is really out of it, today," Kolder muttered, and followed suit, spraying water onto the grassy shore. 

Underwater, Spyro saw the pillar that supported the island with the tiki head on it. He coiled his leg muscles and cut expertly through the water, charging almost as quickly as on land. He heard Kolder behind him, chasing him. But Spyro was faster. After all, he had had more experience. He precisely zig-zagged through the water, treading a zany path, while Kolder struggled to follow him. Then, suddenly, he shot upwards.

He emerged from the lake, landing in a comfortable float on his stomach. Kolder tried to copy him, but went up too fast, and he emerged from the surface flying over Spyro and landing with a splash on his other side.

Spyro laughed as Kolder emerged to the surface, shaking his sapphire wings and laughing uncontrollably. He and Spyro played in the water for a while longer, chasing each other and flipping through the air, until a loud gong sounded near the mouth of the cave. The dragons slowly walked into the cave, chattering excitedly among themselves.

"Time for closing ceremonies," Kolder declared breathlessly. "We'd better get going, too."

Spyro turned his head towards the coast, but spotted something bobbing in the water out of the corner of his eye that was shining as brilliantly as the sun.

"Are you coming?" Kolder started swimming away impatiently.

"Look at that..." said Spyro in a bewildered tone, staring at the object.

Kolder looked across the waters. "Look at _what?_" 

"There...don't you see it? The shiny thing," Spyro said, pointing.

Kolder looked around. "I don't see anything," he said in a nervous tone.

"I'll be there in a second. Just go on," Spyro replied, starting to swim towards the object that was nearly blinding.

"Quit-quit joking around, Spyro," Kolder muttered nervously, looking around anxiously. "C'mon, we're going to be late."

"No, no, really," Spyro muttered. "Go on ahead. I'll be there in a moment."

"O-Okay," Kolder said nervously, and swam back to shore.

Spyro continued to swim closer to the object, which was so bright he had to hold up his front left leg against his eyes. He reached out with a clawed hand and touched it.

Instantly a jolt of searing, white-hot pain shot through his arm and into his stomach. Spyro wheezed as if something had just charged into him. The object dimmed until it barely shone anymore, until Spyro could comfortably gaze at it's surface.

The surface of the object seemed to be swirling, as if made out of some kind of cloud. The fascinating thing about it was that it was constantly changing colors, from bright yellow to sapphire, right to emerald green and then to silver. Spyro looked at it with great fascination. 

"What could this be?" Spyro wondered aloud, reaching tentatively out to touch the object again.

He automatically withdrew it, although he hadn't felt any pain. Startled, he touched it again. No pain.

Spyro reached out and cupped the spherical object in his claws. It was about the same size as a baseball, but it felt light and warm in his hands, and as he gazed into its crystalline depths, it fixed upon a brilliant ruby, swirling inside the object. It was very odd. Spyro felt as if he had finally found something he was looking for. That this was a long lost possession returned to him at last. But he hadn't the slightest clue what it was.

"Weird," Spyro muttered simply. Grasping it in one paw, he slowly swam back to shore.

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Well, what do you think? Reviews are much appreciated! You review me, and I'll review all of your stories!


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you peoples who have reviewed so far. Sorry it took me so long to update, technical difficulties! (Begins smacking computer angrily)

Scuse me. NEWAYZ, enjoy Chapter 2. M¥§T!¢ ¢#££§£

Spyro returned to the cave later that night to find a great many of the Dragon Folk, young and old, snoozing peacefully on the lush, thick carpet of grass that had grown since they had last been there. He spotted Kolder a good deal away from the rest of the group, tossing pebbles that had fallen off of the wall up at newly forming stalactites.

"Whatcha got there?" Kolder murmured, not even moving as the rock he threw ricocheted off of the cave ceiling with a loud _ping._

"I don't have a clue," Spyro admitted, scratching the back of his neck with his rough claws. He looked at the orb up thoughtfully as it lay in his paw, and lowered it gently to the mossy ground.

Kolder groggily got to his feet, looking wide-eyed at the object. "That's no regular orb," he exclaimed drowsily.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," agreed Spyro. "It was the thing I found on the water. He peered momentarily into the depths, which were swirling gently with an orange flame.

Kolder arose with a look of wonderment on his face. Carefully, he picked it up in a ruby paw – and instantly dropped it. 

Spyro followed the orb with his gaze as it rolled across the grass, then shifter his glance to Kolder's face, which was frozen in a silent scream. At first, Spyro could see nothing different about him. But then, he saw it, on Kolder's paw. It was hard to see under the camouflage of Kolder's ruby scales, but on his paw, some of them had melted and drooped, revealing a shiny red burn.

"Ouch," said Kolder weakly, cradling the back of his paw in the soft cradle of the tall grass. He had a look of shock on his face. 

"Wha-what the…what happened?" Spyro asked, puzzled. 

"What is that thing…get that thing away from me!" Kolder croaked. 

Spyro quickly snatched the object from among the plant life and peered at it almost questioningly, looking for anything peculiar about it. Of course, the object itself was unbelievably peculiar. He let it roll along his scaly arms for a while, but it caused him no pain.

"This doesn't make any sense." Spyro let the sphere fall back to the earth with a thud. Thankfully, it wasn't fragile. "Well, we're going back to Summer Forest at dawn, are we?" he inquired, twirling the ball around like a lopsided top. 

"Yeah, where else would we go?" Kolder replied, the same mix of fear and confusion plastered onto his face. He was still quite shocked by the ferocity of the burn.

"When we get here, be ready to go straight to Winter Tundra, so be ready."

"Why? What are we going to do there?"

"What else? We're going to go visit the sanctum."

After the triumphant defeat of Ripto, Bianca had painstakingly fixed the nearly ruined castle with a fair amount of magic. She had also sensed tremendous magical energies radiating from the site, so she refurbished the place and made it into her own private sanctum, where she often spent hours alone immersing herself in ancient, dusty spellbooks. Far and wide, tales of her great magical feats had spread. She was the person to go to with any sort of magical trinket.

"Oh, neat," Kolder replied, trying to suspend it in midair so that it would stop hurting. "Maybe she can do something about this burn."

"I don't think that will be necessary," Spyro said, gesturing towards the mouth of the cave. Dyllin was zipping about in the air frantically, zooming towards Kolder a fast as it could.

"Bzz-bzz bzz bzz _bzzz _bzz bzz. Bzz bzz bzz," the dragonfly said.

"It's okay, I don't mind that you were late," Kolder said. The dragonfly flew up close to him, but nothing happened. His wings flapping sadly, Dyllin shook his head. Kolder muttered, "It's okay, little guy. You tried." Suddenly depressed, Dyllin flew back out of the mouth of the cave.

"About that," Spyro began, picking up the sphere and tossing it into the air recklessly. "Don't show that burn to anyone."

"Why not?"

"Why not?!? You think that they wouldn't notice it? They'd definitely wonder where you got it. We'll have to definitely keep this thing a secret between ourselves and Bianca.

"But what's the worst that could…" Kolder trailed off into nothingness, gazing to the right of Spyro.

"What?" asked Spyro, alarmed.

His eyes were immediately drawn to the sphere lying on the ground, which had burnt the grass it was laying on to a fine, darkened ash. A ring of flames had formed around the orb, only about an inch tall. Both Spyro and Kolder backed away nervously as the flames quickly spread, some breaking off from the ring, others changing direction. With a quick flash and a bang, the flames dissipated, leaving a strange, charred symbol, engraved into the sizzling ground.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

"Yeah…we'd…we'd better…" Kolder muttered in disbelief. Unlike Spyro, he had not seen many extraordinary things in his days.

Spyro smiled. He knew that if Kolder hadn't been convinced before, he certainly was now. But still, it was a mystery that amazed even him just a bit. He had never seen anything like this. It was far too beautiful and amazing to be a gem, far too mysterious and rare to be an orb. It was something…different. And he could definitely sense something incredibly…magical about it.

"Yeah," Spyro said. "Be ready in the morning. And if anyone asks, we're just going to visit Bianca. Don't even think about telling _anyone _about this thing."

"…Okay," Kolder replied. "But do you really think it's…_necessary _to be so cautious?"

"You never can be to careful. Remember my journeys...each of them was made to defeat a person who held an object with untold powers. But, due to some lucky occurrences of villains who thought that it was unnecessary, or they were unable, to use the powers of the object to their full extent, I was able to get away unscathed. It was luck that they were cocky. But I don't think I want to keep relying on that chance. Remember...Gnasty Gnorc's Staff, Ripto's Scepter, the Sorceress' Wand...It is a wonder that I am still alive.

"With an artifact like this," he continued, gesturing towards the object, which was now filled with an agitated sort of electric yellow, "There's always someone who wants to meddle with it. It probably holds untold powers, as we've seen. And I'm not too thrilled about the concept of going on _another _adventure to stop some imbecile who has gotten his hands on this, _especially _if it is a fellow dragon. And without the allure of gems," Spyro added as an afterthought. 

"You're right," Kolder agreed. "But, can I see it for just a sec? I'm not gonna burn myself again or anything like that." Spyro didn't object, so he trotted towards the object. He extended the nerveless claws on his uninjured arm towards the orb.

_How dare he?_ A dark voice arose in the confines of Spyro's brain. _I didn't give him permission! Does he have no respect! After all, I was the one who found it in the first place. Who does he think he is?_

Before he could stop himself, his arm instinctively shot out and grabbed Kolder's ruby arm. His mind reeled. _Where did that voice come from?_ he wondered to himself. 

"Umm…Spyro?" Kolder squeaked, his hand struggling to free itself from Spyro's unusually iron grip. "You could have just said no."

Spyro struggled against the mysterious force in his own mind, forcing his hand to open and release Kolder. Kolder gave Spyro an odd look. But when Kolder scooped up the sphere in his nerveless claws, Spyro, let out a silent scream inside.

_What in the world is wrong with me?_ he thought. _It's just a stupid ball. I don't even know what it is or where it came from!_

But the powerful force nearly overpowered him, and it was all he could do to keep himself from lashing out at Kolder. 

"Hey! What's wrong?" Kolder asked, noticing Spyro's body quake violently. 

"I...I'll be fine..." Spyro muttered. "We'd better just get to bed." He wanted to get far away from Kolder, just in case he cracked. 

"It is pretty cool, isn't it," Kolder whispered in an awestruck tone, turning it over and over, watching it shift colors quickly and frantically, and then slowly and calmly. He was careful to not let it touch his bare flesh. After a while, he rolled it to Spyro, colliding with his claws with a small _tink._ "We'd better get to bed, Spyro. It's like one in the morning." And with that, he turned over on his side, and within a few minutes, he was snoozing peacefully, despite the burn. Dragons are surprisingly resilient.

Spyro gave an involuntary shudder as he awkwardly trudged over to a remote corner of the cave, carrying the orb, still fighting the mysterious force inside his head.

_Why did I ever bother to pick you up?_ he wondered at the object, which glistened at him innocently. 

_What do you mean?_ the voice inside his head said as if in reply, suddenly eerily calm and gentle. _You know that you're glad you found me. After all...of og aie'h vugfola...it is your destiny..._ The gentle voice suddenly hissed, and fought him no more. Trembling, his head pounding with questions, his every muscle suddenly becoming aware of how weary he really was, he collapsed onto the grass, orb shielded in the grass to him. 

Before long, he slipped into troubled, feverish dreams.

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